Patient was educated regarding effect of laxative abuse on constipation as follows:
- Laxatives increasingly draw fluid into the stool from the intestines to make the stool loose for it to pass easily.
- Overtime, patients can be dehydrated, secondary to increasing loss of water.
- Dehydration causes the bowel to slow down further.
- This prompts patients to increase the dosage of laxative, to get the desired effect of having a bowel movement.
- Increasing dose of laxative leads to further loss of fluid from the body. This will complicate the condition and results in chronic constipation.
